


Family is More Than Blood

by queen_of_iceni



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, Irondad, M/M, a classic kidnapping fic, also maybe i just don't know how to write angst, anyway enjoy this irondad fic, but know that its in here so if it triggers you please don't read, completely fluff ngl, i'll have warnings for individual chapters, if i get that wrong PLEASE let me know, if you ship starker leave immediately, some depictions of bad mental health, there IS suicide in here but it is very short lived and not much focused on, this is hurt/comfort, this is literally fluff though like even the angst isn't that bad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-16
Updated: 2020-08-29
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:42:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25942288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queen_of_iceni/pseuds/queen_of_iceni
Summary: Tony and Peter are close, but the limits of their relationship is tested when Peter is thrown in danger. Tony finds out what lengths he will go to in order to save his kid, and Peter learns how much he can trust that Tony will be there for him and won't leave.DISCLAIMER: The MCU doesn't belong to me. if it did you KNOW tony would be alive... and stucky would be canon... etc
Relationships: May Parker (Spider-Man) & Peter Parker, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Natasha Romanov, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 4
Kudos: 35





	1. Calm Before The Storm

**Author's Note:**

> this first chapter is LITERALLY fluff. there are some unsavory words in here, btw, and i j want to say i support all LGBTQIA+ and I just need you to hate a bully rlly fast, so that's why he's saying these things.
> 
> you may ask: what is the timeline? I reply with: i have no fucking clue. like none at all. a time when everything is happy, which is never. the avengers are all together, peter is w them, everything is great and wonderful. can someone name a time when that exists? cause if so, that's when this is happening

"You dirty, disgusting **faggot**!" Mark's voice screamed across the hall. He was new to Midtown High, and was the worst kid Peter had met. Even Flash, the former resident bully of the high school, was someone Peter considered more of a frenemy than an enemy. Mark was totally different. However, for once, Peter wasn't the target of bullying. The honor of that position went to Eli, Ned's boyfriend, a wiry kid whose eyes were brimming with tears. Ned's eyes were trained on the floor. Peter bit his lip. He remembered, very distinctly, his Aunt's warning -

'Stay out of trouble, honey,'

and Tony's warning - 

'Don't let them know who you really are. It's too dangerous.'

But they didn't understand how it felt to be mocked with no one coming to your rescue, and Peter would be damned if he didn't help someone out in the same predicament. 

"Hey!" He yelled, throwing a pencil at Mark's head. As usual, he didn't miss, but others would probably take it as blind luck. Mark turned his head. 

"Are you defending the slime?" He taunted, "Maybe you want to taste his **dick** too, huh? Like your gross, fat, low-life of a friend!"

The bystanders' laughter died a little. Peter had gained social status in Midtown High - not much, but enough to avoid the worst taunts. This may or may not have had something to do with his internship at Stark Industries, a position that could make any the tiniest bit cool.

"Beating others to a pulp just to feel good about yourself isn't going to get you anywhere in life," Peter distracted him. "You'll just end up a jerk whose sole enjoyment in life is going to a bar Friday evening, watching football and drinking yourself into oblivion to avoid thinking about the fact that your life is falling apart around you.

"Goody-two shoes has spoken," Mark laughed. Peter was pretty sure the comment had gone over his head.

"Oh, shut up" a voice from the crowd. With a sick feeling, Peter looked at the speaker and his eyes landed on the ripped jeans and denim jacket of MJ. 

"Dude, just back off," she gave Mark a withering look. 

"Standing up for your wimpy boyfriend, **bitch**?" Mark's eyes glimmered with sadistic power. Peter saw red. Nobody, _nobody_ , insulted his friends, and Eli, Ned, and MJ had all been targeted. He landed a punch so solidly on Mark's jaw that the boy stumbled backward and he could hear a quick cracking noise. Mark punched him back. Peter could have stopped him but he thought it was only fair that it was a punch for a punch. Peter had the advantage with superhuman powers and didn't want to hurt Mark too badly. Then he saw Ned comforting a crying Eli and he grabbed Mark's legs, flipping him onto his back and stomping his foot on his groin. Mark doubled up, and (of course, Peter's luck) Principal Rennings stepped out of his office at that exact moment.

  
He sighed dramatically. "Go to my office."

Peter considered offering Mark his hand to help him get up, but he caught MJ's eye and she gave him a look that clearly said, 'Stop being nice.' He followed Principal Rennings inside his office. Peter had only ever been there twice - once, when Aunt May couldn't pay tuition and they had to come and negotiate more financial aid, and the other time when he and Ned hacked the school's mainframe and put pictures of Sidney getting drunk and admitting that he had cheated on his old girlfriend. Both times Principal Rennings had looked calm, collected, and open to whatever they would say. This time his expression was firm and intimidating.

"Peter, what were you doing?" He asked. Peter knew that Mark would mock him for being a snitch if he told the truth but he needed to reduce the amount of trouble that he was in or else Aunt May would have a heart attack. He had already broken one of her rules, no need to push it.  
"He insulted my friends for being gay," he explained, "I punched him out of rage. I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

"No, it won't," Principal Rennings, "We'll discuss punishments with your parents, since this was your first physical offense. Mark, care to explain your side?"

"The runt punched me! I didn't lay a hand on him," Mark glared at Peter. Peter gestured to his split lip.

"Well, it was self-defense," Mark amended, "But he punched me first."

"Did you insult another student for their sexuality?" Principal Rennings asked, rubbing his temples.

"God made us to love the opposite gender," Mark growled, "He's a sinner."

"You have in-school suspension for two weeks including Saturdays and Sundays for bullying and your third physical offense," Principal Rennings declares, "No parental intervention will be allowed. I'll send an email to them. Go into the back room and start doing the past three homework's that teachers have reported you missing."

"Sir?" Peter asked tentatively, "my aunt is working. Is it possible that we could all talk after school?"

"Who's your emergency contact?" Principal Rennings asked, "We have to do this now, sorry. It's protocol, so that you don't get any ideas in between now and then."

"Right," Peter said slowly. This would be awkward to no end. "Um, my emergency contact is Mr. Stark.

* * *

Tony Stark received the phone call on his fly back from a minor mission involving two thugs who had decided to beat up an old lady. Tony had knocked them unconscious and then set their pants on fire so that when the police arrived the brats were in their undies. FRIDAY announced in her normal Irish tones,

"Boss, incoming call from Midtown High School," she informed him.

"Why the hell would a high school call me... and how do they have my cell number?" Tony muttered.

"I do believe that is the high school that Peter Parker attends," FRIDAY commented.

"Ah, yeah," Tony sighed, "You think he's in trouble?"

"Nothing life-threatening, or else Karen would have reported it," FRIDAY pointed out. Karen was the AI installed in Peter's spidey suit.

"True," Tony agreed, "Well, better see what he needs. Set course for Midtown Highschool."

He stepped out of the suit a couple blocks away and it folded itself into a suitcase. He called Happy to let him know that he needed a ride home from Peter's high school. Then he resigned himself to a lecture from a principal. When he walked in, he did _not_ expect Peter to be bleeding. It wasn't bad, but Tony might have slightly panicked.

"What happened to my kid?" he demanded, "My intern. Whatever."

Principal Rennings raised his eyebrow but chose not to comment on his choice of words.  
"He got into a fight -"

"A _what_?" Tony asked incredulously. Peter could beat any of these lousy kids in a fight any day of the week. Principal Rennings took the surprise as anger.

"There was minimal harm caused to either of them," he said quickly. 

"Can I speak to him alone for a sec?" Tony asked, "We can talk about consequences after."

"Of course," the principal graciously stepped into the back room.

"Hi, Mr. Stark, I'm really sorry for bothering you this is nothing I'm really really really -"

"I've told you to call me Tony a million times, kid," Tony corrected, "And it's not a problem. How did you get hurt? You could beat him up in a second."

"It seemed fair. I had the advantage with the superhuman abilities," Peter shrugged, "And you wanted me to stay incognito."

"Not at the risk of your own injury!" Tony protested, "That's not what I meant!"

"It's a split lip," Peter said, "Nothing is even broken."

"Yeah, well, I hope you broke his di-"

"Mr. Stark!"

"Tony, kid, Tony. Anyway, why'd you hurt him in the first place?" Tony asked, "Was he killing someone?"

"He was mocking my friends," Peter said. He looked the smallest bit nervous. Tony wanted to scream at him, but this room wasn't soundproof, so he settled for speaking in a very quiet angry voice.

"You nearly revealed yourself for some lowly insults?" Tony stared him in the eye. 

"Yeah, well-" Peter began to raise his voice.

"Keep it down, kid, don't want Rennings to hear," Tony warned.

"Look, just discuss my punishments with the principal and then we can talk about what _you_ want me to use _my_ powers for.," Peter said angrily.

"That's not what I-" Tony began, but stopped when Principal Rennings re-entered the room.

"Are you two ready for me?" he asked, looking between their two flushed faces.

"We're ready," Tony said, "We'll ground him, not let him visit his friends for a week, read only nonfiction books, no internet..." Tony looked helplessly at Peter. He wasn't the best at arranging punishments. Peter was half glad Aunt May wasn't here.

"I expect you to talk to him about what he did wrong?" the principal added.

"Very sternly," Tony agreed, "Yes, that too."

"One day of out of school suspension that will be wiped from his record after this school year."  
Tony was confused (why suspend him if they would just wipe it from his record?) but he acquiesced with a nod of his head. 

"You are dismissed," Principal Rennings said, and headed back into the back room. Peter and Tony slipped out a side door, quickly hopping into the black Ferrari that Happy had brought round. 

"It makes me eligible for Prom King," Peter said out of nowhere. Tony frowned, turning to him. "The one day suspension. Not that it matters, you just looked confused. I mean, not confused, because you're _never_ confused, but I just meant that-"

"I was," Tony interrupted. "Confused. Thanks for clearing it up, kid."

There was an uncomfortable silence for the rest long drive to Stark Tower with various opera and pop songs alternating on Pepper's mixtape that had been left in the car. When they reached the two got out, Tony could've sworn he heard a relieved sigh from Happy, but that might have been his own.

The elevator was just as quiet except the music was jazz. The doors finally opened with a loud beep and the pair stepped out.

"Alright, kid, listen," Tony began, "You _can't_ let others know who you are."

"They needed someone to stand up for them!" Peter protested.

"Well, get someone else to do it."

"It doesn't work like that, everyone is too scared," Peter insisted, " _except_ for me. I'm Spider-Man! This is what I do. I help people in need - and not just big shots like all you other superheroes help, I help ordinary people!"

"You can't help ordinary people if you're dead!" Tony shouted.

"What on earth?" Peter said, "Dead? Where did that come from?"

"If people know who you are, enemies know who you are," Tony said in a slightly quieter voice but not much, "And then enemies target Peter Parker, not Spider-Man and everyone you love and care about! Sure, it sucks when your friends get teased but that's better than your friends getting killed!"

"What was I supposed to do?" Peter's shoulders sagged, defeated, "I couldn't just let him hurt them, especially since Ned knows that I'm Spider-Man."

"You need to have a talk with your friends, kid," Tony sighed, "And get used to letting them down. Being a superhero means choosing your battles and sometimes you leave some angry people in your wake."

"I'm gonna go do my school work," Peter said. It wasn't a real response but at least Tony had gotten Peter thinking. The teenager swung his bag over his shoulder and headed to the kitchen, his walk a little sober.

"Hey, kid," Tony called after him. Peter turned around expectantly. Tony blushed a little.

"You did good," he said, "I'm proud of you."

A smile spread over Peter's face - slow, but bright as the sun.

* * *

"Um, Mr. Stark?" Peter asked nervously. Mr. Stark was busy hammering away at something in his workshop and took a moment to register Peter's presence.

"Yeah, kid?" he asked, for once too engaged with his project to correct Peter's choice of names.

"Aunt May is working double shift today. She won't get back until late. Can.... can I have Happy take me home?"

"Huh?" Tony looked up from his work. He seemed to realize what Peter was saying, "Oh, no. You can just crash here for the night. If that's okay with your aunt."

"Re...really?" Peter asked, surprised. The 'staying over' was not a line that they had crossed yet. Peter had assumed that Tony was relieved when he left for home. 

"Yeah, really," Tony sounded amused, "I have plenty of bedrooms and I think enough food for breakfast."

"Sir, I have out of school suspension tomorrow," Peter said.

"Even better," Tony grinned, "You can sleep, maybe spend a few more hours here."

"I'll... I'll call Aunt May," Peter could barely hide the excitement roiling around inside him. Apparently he did a good job because Mr. Stark frowned. 

"If it's okay with you, too," he added thoughtfully, "I mean, I can understand if-"

"It's great with me!" Peter cut in quickly. Tony laughed.

"Alright, kid, call Aunt May."

Peter stood awkwardly at the door of Tony's workshop. He wasn't entirely sure what he was supposed to do - most of his time here he spent on his work or doing projects that he had brought (mind you, these were projects like advancements for his suit not a vinegar and baking soda volcano). He'd finished his homework and he hadn't prepared for staying with Mr. Stark. Tony stopped his work for a minute to look at Peter curiously.

"What do people _do?"_ He asked, tilting his head slightly.

"Excuse me, Mr. Stark?"

"Tony, god you sound like you work for me," Tony groaned, "What do people normally do other than... well, work or go to parties?"

"Um... well, watch movies?" Peter suggested.

"Okay, kid, let's watch a movie."

"If your work is important you don't have to-" Peter said quickly.

"You worry too much, Pete," Tony grinned, "What's a good movie?"

They had moved to the living room now and Peter glanced at all the DVDs that Mr. Stark owned.

"Those were my dad's," Tony said quietly.

"Than it's our job to watch all of them," Peter announced, "What's the first? Pirates of the Caribbean? Your dad had good taste."

Tony laughed, "That he did. Let's go, The Curse of the Black Pearl awaits."

Peter slid the movie into the DVD player and began the movie.

* * *

"Captain. Captain Jack Sparrow," Peter quoted in sync with Johnny Depp. Tony glanced at him with a slight grin on his face. He didn't quite understand why he liked Peter so much. It wasn't that he was opposed to minors it was just that they generally tended to be annoying. And Peter should be, too, but for some reason he wasn't. 

"Want some ice cream, kid?" Tony asked quietly, trying not to talk over the dialogue.

"Are... are you sure?"

Tony just raised an eyebrow.

"That would be awesome, Mr. Stark!" Peter said, "Thank you!"

Tony couldn't help but chuckle at Peter's awe. He grabbed some Mocha Chocolate Core (the kid was obsessed with Ben and Jerry's core ice cream) from the fridge and headed back to the movie. Peter had spread out across the couch, and Tony decided to give into an instinct he had been fighting for a while. 

"Lift up your head, Pete," he ordered. Peter did that and Tony slid underneath him. He kept awkwardly holding it up and Tony fought the urge to laugh. He forced Peter's head on his lap and he relaxed. They shared the Ben and Jerry's cup, spoons occasionally fighting for the same bite. Eventually, Peter fell asleep on Mr. Stark's lap. Tony supposed that this was expected to happen but, when the movie finished, he wasn't quite sure what to do. He gently swung his arms underneath Peter's slumbering form and picked him up. Peter was by no means light but he wasn't heavy either. He felt like a solid weight, tying him to earth. Tony carried him up to his bedroom, tucking him in under the covers.

"Goodnight, kid," he whispered. 

"'Night," Peter mumbled back. Tony left the room then, cursing himself for getting so attached. When he slid into bed himself, he missed Pepper's warmth beside him and longed for someone next to him.

He slept fitfully until he felt a solid warmth pressed against his side, and then he could finally sleep.

* * *

Peter woke with a sense of strange but comfortable warmth next to him. Was Ned sleeping over? No... he was at Mr. Stark's house. But why was there someone next to him? Peter realized with embarrassment that he was _in Mr. Stark's bed_. With Mr. Stark next to him! He must have crawled in here because... he paled suddenly with the remembrance of what had brought him in here in the first place.

_He was standing on the precipice of a craggy cliff, staring at a raging beast snapping up at him. He could only see the creature's gaping maw that seemed to stretch the length of the bottom of the ravine. If he feel down it, he would fall directly into the creature's mouth. He was just out of reach of the monster's teeth, standing there mocking it. The air was hot and heavy, dust swirling in clouds around him. It smelled of rotting meat, and he was pretty sure that was the monster's breath. He was coughing up the dust and he didn't know what to do, paralyzed with indecision. Then, in the distance, he heard a raw shout._

_"Peter!" That was Mr. Stark._

_"Peter here!" Aunt May. He looked up on instinct and realized with horror that Ned, MJ, Aunt May, and Tony Stark were falling from the sky - right towards the open maw of the creature._

_"Please catch us, Peter!" Ned shouted._

_"You're the one who got us here - get us out!" MJ let loose a scream of pure terror as they gained speed. Peter shot out a net of web to catch them, silvery threads shooting across the canyon. If they attached to the opposite end of the cliff, it would form a net that would bounce his friends and family back to safety._

_They web missed the other side._

_His only friends, the only people he loved and cared about, plunged to their death._

_And it was his fault._

Peter shivered. He was immediately glad that Mr. Stark slept quietly next to him. His presence was the only thing keeping Peter from having a full on panic attack. He knew that the exact circumstances would never happen, but something similar could. The thought both terrified and devastated Peter. He knew he wasn't good enough, but somehow he had the power anyway. His breathing quickened as he remembered the feeling of desperation, and he ducked into Mr. Stark's side without thinking. He felt his mentor stir, and a blush crept across his cheeks as he made to move away. Before he could, Mr. Stark put his arm around his shoulders.

"Kid, you okay?" He asked, his voice still layered with sleep.

"Y...yeah," Peter stammered. Embarrassment at being caught in Mr. Stark's bed coupled with the remaining traces of fear from his dream made it difficult to speak at all.

"What's wrong?" Mr. Stark asked.

"Night-m..nightmare," Peter managed. 

"Wanna talk about it?" He suggested.

"No!" Peter answered quickly. 

"You wanna stay here?"

Peter knew he should say no. He was in high school, he shouldn't be sleeping in an adults bed just because he had a bad dream! Especially an adult whom he idolized and so obviously did not need Peter himself. But hopelessness flooded over him as he thought of returning to his bed alone. He nodded his head with shame. He felt Mr. Stark laugh a little at his side.

"Kid, no need to feel ashamed," he assured him, "We all need someone sometimes."

Peter let the tension drain out of him as he took in Mr. Stark's realness beside him. He fell asleep curled into the man's side.

* * *

Tony woke up and slipped away from Peter quietly, getting ready with as little noise as possible so as not to wake the sleeping child in his bed. He was new to this whole parenting thing, but for some reason he knew instinctively what to do with Peter. Of course, he continuously worried about messing up, but the kid was pretty resilient.

His first thought once he got downstairs was, _I have to feed him. What do I normally eat?_

He was lost there. He forgot meals so often that he had no use for food in the house. If he _was_ eating with no prompting he usually just ordered food in - or got FRIDAY to do it. Maybe he should put in a little more effort for Peter. Omelettes couldn't be that hard.

"FRIDAY look up a recipe for a basic omelette," Tony ordered. FRIDAY displayed a recipe on the holoscreen to the left of Tony's T.V. He took a deep breath. This was cooking. He could master astrophysics overnight. He could cook a goddamn omelette. Tony found four eggs in the fridge and broke them in a pan. 

"Boss, have you greased the pan?" FRIDAY asked in Irish tones. Tony grimaced.

"Uh, no," he shrugged. "Oh, well. It can't matter that much."

Ten minutes later the floor was covered in egg. Some, Tony was positive, was on him. The fire in the stove was flaming over the spilt oil on the kitchen counter and somehow a few of the chairs had been flipped over. He stared dejectedly at the small amount of unburnt egg on his arm. 

From door of the kitchen, a small voice said, "Um, Mr. Stark?"

"Tony," he corrected absentmindedly, "You're up, huh?"

"Uh, yeah," Peter smiled shyly, "You wanna get take out?"

"I think... I think that's a good idea," Tony said. They stood in awkward silence for a moment, then Tony started to snicker. It triggered a bout of laughter from the two, sitting on the floor of the kitchen, laughing their hearts out.


	2. Resistance Is Futile

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter is in danger and Tony has to pull himself together to save his kid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is angsty - be warned!! nothing should be triggering here, but these emotions are not happy ones, so forewarned is forearmed etc
> 
> btw, if you hadn't figured it out, each of the breaks (like, w the lines) is a POV change

Tony shivered as he remembered that he was all alone in the house. He and Peter had spent yesterday working on projects and such until his aunt asked for him to be returned home. Tony had tried to immerse himself in improvements to the suit. He had succeeded for the entire night but the daylight filtering into his workshop through the glass wall reminded him that he had to do something other than work. He wiped his face, which did little to reduce the amount of grime since his hands were equally dirty, but did allow him to realize that he was crying. With a start he realized that he wasn't just alone in the house, he was _alone_. Pepper had called for a temporary break, saying his arrogance would be his downfall and she couldn't bear to watch it happen - how temporary could it really be? And Tony Stark was bad for Peter - he had to remember that and keep his distance. 

But no human could take being alone, and Tony was no exception. He tried to stop the tears but they just kept coming until he couldn't help it and he sank to the floor, head in hands. Sobs racked his body as he felt himself slipping into hopelessness. Then a voice echoed in his head. Peter's.

_I understand. I just - I just wanted to be like you._

_And I wanted you to be better._

But Peter was better. So much better than Tony could ever hope to be. Maybe though, maybe, he could try to live up to Peter's expectations. Maybe then he wouldn't be alone. 

"Sir?" FRIDAY's voice snapped him out of his reverie.

"Yeah, what?" Tony frowned. His voice was still thick with tears and he struggled to get it under control

"An incoming call from May Parker," FRIDAY announced, "Would you like to take it?"

_May? What the hell? Why was she calling him?_

"Yeah, take it," he took a deep breath.

"Mr. Stark, I'd really like my kid back now," was the first thing she said. Tony's initial emotion was confusion, but it settled into dread at the pit of his stomach.

"I sent him home last night."

"No... he called to say he was staying over one more night," May corrected.

"FRIDAY, do a sweep to see if he's in Stark Tower," Tony instructed. FRIDAY did as told - there was no one.

"I sent Happy to take him home yesterday," Tony said, "It was Happy's last task of the day, and he has today off."

"You mean, you don't have him?" May's voice rose a notch.

"I'm coming over," Tony said, and ended the call. He massaged his temples, another lump appearing in his throat, signaling tears. He pushed it down. Now was not the time. He had a kid - _his_ kid - to save.

* * *

Peter shivered in the cold, dark room. His body was fully wrapped in netting, making it impossible for him to move without tangling himself more. He was in his normal clothes. What he would give for Karen to be here, giving him advice in her comforting, robotic voice. The ground below him was hard and unforgiving - he already had cramps and aches all over his body. He could smell steel and something salty (which he hoped was iron and not blood) but heard no voices or even footsteps. 

He remembered Happy driving to Ned's where he was going to stop by and tell him about staying with Mr. Stark. He could see Ned's front door in his mind's eye and then... nothing. He didn't even remember blackness. It was as though nothing had happened since then and now - though things most certainly had. He could feel his eye swelling and his split lip and been reopened. His gut also felt sore, as though he had been punched there many hours ago. He could feel numerous cuts stinging all over his arms and legs, made worse by the chafing of the netting. He perked up for a second, convinced he had heard something. When he strained his already super-enhanced ears, though, there was nothing.

For a long time, Peter sat in the silence. He tried to speak occasionally but just opening his mouth hurt and he was parched and raspy. Talking was painful, so he decided to forgo it. Eventually, when he was certain more than two hours had passed but it could have been three or ten, he heard the steady sound of footfalls coming towards his room. The door on the other side was flung open, revealing strobe lighting in the other side. Peter squeezed his eyes shut, momentarily blinded. He felt whoever had entered haul him up. His entire body protested, pain shooting through his leg. Peter realized that his ankle was twisted. The person pushed him forward, leading him roughly through winding corridors.

_Mr. Stark I need you._

Peter was more afraid than he realized. He didn't know if he could withstand torture although he had to try. He had no idea what whoever had him wanted him for, and he had no idea if his friends and family were alright.

 _If I cause them to get hurt, I'll never forgive myself,_ he thought miserably.

"Well, well, well," a voice purred in his ear. He was forced on his knees and, though he hadn't opened his eyes once, a blindfold was wrapped around his eyes. He could feel plush carpet beneath his knees and he relaxed as much as he could.

_I can do this._

_No, I can't. Not alone._

_Mr. Stark, please._

"Hello, little one," the voice said again. It was female, and vaguely familiar. "Are you ready to begin?"

* * *

" _Oh my god,"_ May said. She was pacing the living room, hands clutching long strands of brown hair. "You're saying that the man who was entrusted with my son's safety is _completely useless?_ "

"Happy is bedridden, yes," Tony said. He himself was fighting the urge to jump off the sofa and take a few shots at the wall of May's apartment but he had to maintain the appearance of calm. "He's not useless. It's not his fault someone got the jump on him."

_Oh god, Peter, where are you?_

"I put a tracker on his spider suit, that was dumped in a random alley. I've been trying to reactivate Karen, Peter's AI," Tony said, "That's when I got the call about Happy. His memory's been wiped. He has no recollection of yesterday's events."

"Well, lets go," May said, grabbing a small brown bag off the counter.

"Go?" Tony asked, momentarily confused, "You want to come with me?"

"I can't stand sitting around doing nothing while my _baby_ is missing," May hissed. Tony understood more than he cared to admit.

_Don't think about it. Don't think about Peter sitting alone, terrified, in his cell. Don't think about him waiting for you, only to be let down again. Don't think about the pain inside you right now, don't think about the fact that you want to cry, don't think about the cracked thing inside you that people call a heart._

It was getting harder not to think about anything relevant.

The pair arrived at Stark Towers in less than twenty minutes. Tony had decided to ignore a few traffic rules ( _all_ traffic rules). In his lab, Peter's suit was suspended right above his table.

"I've tried contacting Karen, boss," FRIDAY sounded over her speaker, "Nothing."

"May, you can sit down wherever," he gestured to the mess around him. "Fri, try running a scan on Karen's latest messages."

"One hit within the past twenty four hours," FRIDAY said immediately, "She sent out a distress call and a video recording. Unluckily for us, it can only be accessed by herself."

"Lucky for us, I created her," Tony said, his words not quite matching the intensity of his tone, "I can hack her in two minutes."

Tony brought up Karen's security code on the holoscreen in front of him. He tapped out a few lines of code and the screen whirred with commands, crashing through Karen's state of the art firewall. One and a half minutes later, Tony found the video and pressed play.

There was a bulky man and woman approaching the suit. Tony heard Peter's voice, asking for a negotiation. He nearly doubled over, feeling his heart breaking in half. That was his kid, forever kind and gentle. The attackers were not moved. The woman sent a punch at Peter's face which he ducked with no problem - straight into the man's arms. Faster than Tony had ever seen a normal human move, he plunged a needle into Peter's neck. No normal syringe would've been able to pierce through the suit, and no normal formula would've been able to take Peter out. Apparently this wasn't normal, because Peter slumped in his arms. The woman cast a glance towards Peter's fallen backpack, stripped him of the suit, and stuffed it in the pack, and zipped it up. The feed went black with lack of sunlight, and then it stopped.

"FRIDAY run face recognition on the assailants," Tony instructed, struggling to keep his voice even."

"Sir, they've both been identified as part of the Chicago Mob."

"I didn't even know Chicago _had_ a mob," Tony muttered, which wasn't strictly true but kept his mind off more important things. Unfortunately, May was not wasting time with distractions.

"How the did the Chicago Mob know how to deal with Spider-Man?" She demanded, "How did they know Peter was Spider-Man? And what the _hell_ do they want with my son?"

Tony hung his head with weariness, then lifted his head again, determination filling his eyes. He would find Peter Parker, no matter what it took.

* * *

"Your purpose here is small, at best," the female voice crooned, "I have been given instructions to tell you only this - Tony Stark will come for you. And when he does, he will be taken down."

Peter fought back a sob at the thought of being Tony's downfall. His worst nightmares were coming true, one by one. He tried to focus on his surroundings to make his mind clear, the feel of the carpet under his knees, the hitman's tight grip on his neck, the sound of the woman's voice. _The sound of the woman's voice..._ it sounded like a distorted version of the voice of -

"Pepper?" Peter asked, surprise getting the better of him. The woman - Pepper - growled. 

"Virginia Potts was a fraud, an imposter," it hissed, the voice cracking, "I am the true master of this body, as I should always have been."

"Whoops," Peter tried for a laugh, "My mistake."

This seemed to satisfy the thing that used to be Pepper. Peter assumed that they had injected some sort of subservient chemical into her, and she now believed whatever they told her. Whoever 'they' were. They said that they were using him to get to Tony - maybe they had tried with Pepper first, but Tony must have thought that she was mad at him so not returning his calls. Peter vaguely realized that Pepper hadn't been around recently. Then they captured Peter, though how they got a sedative into his enhanced senses was beyond him.

"So, what do you plan to do with me?" he asked, trying for a nonchalant tone. He failed and it came out as more of a squeak.

"We plan to liberate you from the idiocy of Peter Parker," Not-Pepper said, and Peter could hear the evil smile in her voice. He remembered with a chill that Not-Pepper had said that she was the _true master of this body_. Were they going to do the same to him, change him so that he was only a slave to the whims of these cruel people? 

"You won't be able to figure out a formula powerful enough to counteract my spider sense," Peter bluffed. They had created a sedative, it was only a matter of time before they did the same with this injection.

"We will soon enough," Not-Pepper crowed. Peter bit back a smile - so they hadn't done it yet.

"We'll see," he snarled. In return, he felt a stinging slap across his face, and sharp nails tearing into his flesh. When the hand withdrew, he could feel the sharp pain caused by the cuts, but ignored it. He was soon dragged back to whatever cell he had been in before, left to wallow in his pain and fears.

* * *

Tony swiped through various made up sightings of the Chicago Mob. He needed solid evidence of where the headquarters were. 

"Boss?" FRIDAY asked, and Tony could've sworn she almost sounded nervous.

"What is it?" He snapped.

"Incoming text," she began but Tony cut her off.

"Ignore it," he ordered.

"Sir, the number _is_ unknown, but the area code traces back to Chicago," FRIDAY continued. Tony froze.

"Show me," Tony said.

"Its a video recording," FRIDAY said, "Would you like just audio or audio-visual?"

"Audio-visual," Tony side-stepped his work bench and focused on the holoscreen in front of him. A video began to play, the figures in the scene grainy and hard to see.

"Run face recognition," Tony ordered absentmindedly. Then, the one standing up front began to speak. Tony stared.

"Hello, Tony Stark," Pepper said, but it wasn't exactly Pepper's voice. She never had that hatred underlying her words. She had been angry with him, yes, exasperated, yes, but there was always a certain level of fondness in her speech. Tony winced.

"As you can see, I have been kidnapped," Fake Pepper said, "By whom, and for how long is not something you need to know. However, know that they have Peter Parker, and will kill him if you try to rescue him. Do not test them, Tony Stark."

She turned away, and the video ended. Tony slumped onto the table behind him.

"Fri, you get anything?" he asked hopelessly. First Peter and now Pepper? No - that wasn't quite right. Pepper must have been kidnapped earlier. And he hadn't _noticed_? Yes, they were taking a break, but that was inexcusable.

"Two things, boss," she said with a little more forced cheerfulness than usual, "first of all, the men with Ms. Potts were identified as members of the Chicago Mob. Secondly, there was an injection site on Ms. Potts neck that I thought you might want to know about. 

Tony sat up, "That means that she has something in her system that's keeping her in the mob's service! They must have gotten a sample of her blood to make a chemical that strong."

"What?" May entered, carrying two sandwiches. Tony gratefully accepted one and explained his findings to her.

"If they got some of Peter's blood," she paused for a moment, recollecting herself, "if they got some of my son's blood, they could potentially create a sedative."

"I guess," Tony said, "but there's no reason to suppose that he has that chemical in him. He may still be Peter."

"Has he been hurt lately?" May asked anxiously.

Tony thought for a moment, "No, not that I can remember. They'll easily be able to get a sample of blood from him now, but to get the original sample to create that strong of a sedative... I can't think..."

"Well, I would hate it if he was hurt in a fight," May said protectively, forgetting that this left them again with no options. Tony froze.

"No, wait," he said, "he had a split lip from a fight a couple days ago with some kid in the school. It wasn't one of his vigilante mission, but it could be that. Do you think-?"

"Mark was the kid that was bullying his friends," May said, excitement building.

"If he's the only one that made Pete bleed, he's the one we want," Tony said, "Warning, though, May. This search will probably lead to nothing."

"It's worth it," May said, "It's for my baby."

* * *

Peter squirmed in his chains, trying desperately to get out. He was no longer encased in the netting, and could twirl his ankle without pain, but the moment he tried to stand he keeled over. His good foot was cuffed to the ground and he didn't have the energy or strength to break it. They had kept him in a state of constant tiredness, never letting him sleep. Every time he'd dozed off, they'd come and shock him, his spider senses making it a thousand times worse. Occasionally they let him sleep for a few minutes, but the end was inevitably an electric shock.

"Time to feed 'im," a gruff voice came from the other side of the heavy metal door. A little slot opened and food was pushed through. The disgusting, soupy mess of tough meat and rotten vegetables stank like hell but Peter forced it down anyway, ignoring the way the slimy food slid down his throat. He heard two pairs of footsteps coming towards him in the hall before they stopped in front of his door. One voice he recognized, the other he did not. He quickly pretended to be asleep, but they didn't open his cell.

"Tony Stark has received and viewed the message," Not-Pepper said, but her voice was meek instead of harsh. Peter guessed she was talking to someone with more power than she.

"Good, it is only a matter of time before he tracks the signal here," the other voice whispered. It sounded like a snake's, slipping and sliding through other people's weaknesses. 

"We... we made the signal untraceable, and took the video from thirteen miles out of Chicago," Not-Pepper's voice trembled, "that is standard protocol, I didn't realize-"

"You fool!" The other voice hissed, sharp as broken glass, "now we will have to resend a traceable video, and then Stark may realize what we're up to! But maybe - just maybe - he'll be too emotional to think of the possibility that we _want_ him here. Imagine having the great Tony Stark under our control!"

The two cackled and began marching off down the hall.

Peter came in and out of sleep, each time he came close to true unconsciousness he would wake himself up. It felt like a horrible half-life - he couldn't fight, he couldn't give up, he couldn't even see anymore. Everything was blurry. When the footsteps came down the hall again, Peter Parker didn't hear them. When the cell door opened, Peter Parker didn't notice. And when the needle slid into his neck, ejecting a very special formula, Peter Parker ceased to be Peter Parker any longer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaand yes, that's right, this is a kidnapping fic. yes, it is a commonly used trope. yes, im using it. sue me. please don't i have no money but also if you don't enjoy it, nothing is keeping you here, and if you do, ten points bc irondad+hurt/comfort owns my HEART and there is no hurt/comfort if there's no hurt.


	3. Rescue Mission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony tries to save Peter and Peter tries to save Tony.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> time for something GOOD TO HAPPEN. kinda. well, not really except at the very end a little bit. but it's a precursor to good so that's something!

Tony raised his hand above the door, hesitating for a second.

"If this kid doesn't know anything-" he glanced uncertainly at May. 

"Then he'll be a little scared, but fine," May rang the doorbell for him. A boy opened the door, glaring. It wasn't Mark but it seemed like a friend.

"What?" His eyes widened, "Oh my god, Mr. Stark! What brings you here? Is it for my project?"  
"What project? Who _are_ you?" May stepped between them.

"Hello, May," the boy glanced distastefully at the woman. Tony bristled. Then the boy's attention was back on him."My name is Flash. I sent in a project to your towers...?"

"I'll personally review your project if you let me see Mark," Tony lied.

"Uh, yeah, sure, come in!" Flash stammered. Mark was sitting on the couch, playing video games.

"Who the hell did you let into my house, Flash?" Mark asked angrily, not taking his eyes from the screen. 

"Piss off, Mark," Flash snapped, "It's _Tony Stark_."

"I'd like a word with you, Mark," Tony said seriously, "May, if you'd take Flash to another room, for his safety of course."

Mark paused the game, looking at Mr. Stark for the first time and noticing May's presence as well.

"I didn't hit Peter first! I should press charges on _him_!" The words were confident, the tone was not. Tony looked pointedly at May at she muttered something unflattering, grabbed Flash's arm, and dragged him from the room. Tony turned his full glare on Mark. He wasn't used to being angry (usually he was lonely, or sad) but right now he could feel the fury boiling just underneath his skin. Mark whimpered.

" _Please_ don't press charges," he pleaded. His begging did nothing to inspire mercy in Tony, but it did remind him why he was here. 

"I'm here about something much more dangerous," Tony said, "Have you been in contact with anyone who wanted Peter's blood for any reason?"

Mark seemed ready to pee himself, "It was the tiniest amount of blood, just some from my knuckle when I... uh.. when I was using self defense. What harm could that do?"

"Peter has been kidnapped," Tony informed him, and Mark shivered.

"I didn't know, I swear!"

"Tell the people you want to meet them where you met them before," Tony ordered.

"Why?" Mark asked, his fear of the mob more than his fear of Tony.

"Or else way more serious charges can be pressed," Tony warned. "Not to mention the things I can do outside of the law."

Mark picked up his phone with trembling fingers.

"We meet these people at midnight, behind the falafel place on Mark's street," Tony said. "We take them, and force them to tell us where the mob's headquarters are. Then we go in, guns blazing, and rescue Peter."

"Okay," May said slowly, "But what about Pepper?"

"I'm trying not to think about it," Tony groaned, burying his head in his hands, "I'm gonna get her too."

"What if it comes to a choice between the two of them?" May asked, her voice suspicious.

"I don't know, May," Tony gazed at her sadly, "I don't know. God I love Peter, but I love Pepper too."

"Listen to me, Mr. Stark," May said in a steely voice, "If it comes between Peter and Pepper, you are saving my son."

"May-"

"No, don't ' _May_ ' me," May growled, "You will save Peter, or you will die trying."

* * *

Peter struggled, he really did, but it was no use. What was left of him was not in control of his body, though he could clearly see everything that was happening as if through his own eyes. It was disconcerting and unnatural and every time Peter tried to think deeply about it he nearly threw up. But it wasn't him throwing up, really, because this _thing_ was in his blood, in his veins.

"Mr. Stark progress report?" Not-Pepper asked.

"Heading our way, though he hasn't received our traceable message," Not-Peter responded. Peter winced, because the words were coming from his mouth.

Not-Pepper let out a wicked laugh, "He is too smart for his own good. Swivilla will be proud."

Peter had heard the name Swivilla before. She was the head of this operation, the one who was trying to bring down Tony Stark. How or why she was doing this were unclear, but Not-Peter didn't care. 

"I am glad Swivilla put us in her service," Not-Peter said stiffly, and with a start, Peter remembered that behind Not-Pepper's mask Pepper must be there. If he could only find out a way to communicate with her, they might be able to warn Tony. He tried to submerse himself in Not-Peter's personality, sinking into control. He experimentally tried raising his hand. His body complied for the first time in hours.

He tried to say, 'I hate Swivilla,' but that didn't work. He hadn't expected it - he needed small steps.

"Your subconscious fighting, too?" He asked as nonchalantly as possible. Not-Pepper answered with a curt nod. Peter felt a thrill ride at this gesture. The swiftness of the inclination had been such that Peter was sure that Pepper had been in control of that action. She knew now, then, that Peter was still there.

"The little bitch," Not-Pepper grinned, but the smirk was sarcastic enough that it might have been a snarky Pepper. There was hope yet.

"So what's Swivilla's grand plan?" Peter asked, not so subtly changing the topic.

"No idea," Not-Pepper answered. Peter felt a rush of adrenaline through him. Both he and Pepper were talking now, he was sure, but the fake versions of themselves believed they were in control.

"Why does she hate Mr. Stark so much?" Peter questioned.

Not-Pepper shut him down immediately, "We are not permitted to know that and will not inquire."

Pepper was gone. Peter sighed and retreated inside his own mind. This would take some time, but at least it was a start.

* * *

Tony waited patiently amongst the shadows, FRIDAY whispering the time in his ears every five minutes. Currently, it was 11:55 and Tony was nearly jumping out of his skin in anticipation. Finally he was doing _something_ productive to help Peter Parker.

Tony glanced behind him at a scared but determined looking May. He wished that she had stayed in Stark Towers, but he knew that he could never beat her in an argument. His mind wandered to Pepper for a moment, the gorgeous woman with nerves of steel and a clever, witty temperament. He missed her - so, so much - and his stomach still roiled when he thought about leaving her behind. To stop himself from throwing up, he didn't think about it.

"Midnight," FRIDAY breathed into his ear, startling him. He peered into the shadows, activating the night vision in his suit. Two figures dressed entirely in black (though it looked green with the night vision) emerged from the darkness into the alleyway. Tony flattened his body against the wall, though the Iron Man suit was making it a bit difficult. He pressed May back as well, and she did not protest. The two were speaking in muted voices and Tony elevated their volume so that he could hear their conversation.

"This kid says he has leads on Tony Stark," the woman said.

"If he's lying, he'll have hell to pay," the man snarled. Tony recognized them from the video from Karen. He fought the urge to punch them.

"Doesn't matter," the woman corrected him, "Swivilla _wants_ Stark to come after Peter, remember? That's all part of the plan. Then we'll ambush him, and Swiv will put him under the serum. Imagine having control of the most powerful man in the world!"

"Imagine being useless servants of the person in control of the most powerful man in the world," the man said glumly, "Because that's what we're going to be."

"No," she shook her head, "We have been faithful. She won't toss us out like garbage."

"Yeah, she will," he grumbled.

"I agree," Tony stepped into the light of a single light on the back wall of the falafel place. They looked at him, astounded and spluttering. They held up their guns, waving them in what was supposed to be a menacing manner.

"Please," said Tony with a smirk, though they couldn't see his face, "My suit could kill you twenty times faster than you can think. And you need me alive. So why don't we come to a deal, shall we?"

"N-no," the man stammered.

"You really want to die for someone who doesn't even care about what happens to you?" Tony raised an eyebrow - again, a gesture they were blind to.

"She - she does care," the woman insisted, but her voice held a tremor.

"No, she doesn't," Tony snapped. "Don't lie to yourselves. If you come with me, I'll protect you and you can help me get Peter back."

The two looked at each other, silently having a conversation with their eyes. The both looked back at Tony.

"Deal," they said in sync. Tony grabbed them both under one arm, and May with the other.

They were drawing ever closer to his kid.

* * *

Peter watched as Not-Peter lazily entered the room. Not-Pepper was watching him reproachfully, as though he was doing it to specifically annoy her. Peter remembered (with a grin on the inside) that even real Pepper hated people being late. 

"We have a problem," Not-Pepper admitted, turning to face a third person in the room. From the way Not-Peter bent into an awkward bow, Peter guessed that it was Swivilla, though neither of them had ever seen her before.

Swivilla was small and she looked very cat like. She was curled into her pod chair, her silky brown hair falling over her face, obscuring her eyes. Peter could only tell that she was glancing back and forth around the room, never quite still.

"Tell me, then," was all she said, and her words were smooth and confident.

"Tony Stark... apprehended our two spies," Not-Pepper said slowly, as though she didn't want to say it at all.

"Ah, well," Swivilla didn't seem to care, "Hopefully they told him where we are located?"

"They did," Not-Pepper said reluctantly.

"Then _what_ ," Swivilla asked with a completely fake smile, "Is the _problem_?"

"They told him the rest of the plan as well," Not-Pepper looked like she was trying to force the words out of her mouth. 

Swivilla froze, then looked carefully at Not-Pepper.

"If you are lying to me to try to get me to not trust them, I will peel your skin off," Swivilla paused, "Then wear it is as a coat."

"I'm not lying," Not-Pepper said eagerly, "Do you wish to see the video footage?" 

Swivilla's shriek was quick and startling. "NO!"

Not-Pepper cowered, and Peter fought Not-Peter to not do the same. 

"You will find Tony Stark, Ms. Potts, and you will _murder_ him," Swivilla seethed. Not-Pepper nodded quickly and reassuringly.

"Good," Swivilla took a deep (calming?) breath. "He does not know that you are under my influence yet, I hope?"

"The traitors have not told him," Not-Pepper spat.

"Then he will trust you until the final moment," Swivilla grinned maliciously, "You will kill him."

"Of course," Not-Pepper said without a moment's pause.

 _I have to figure out how to warn him,_ Peter thought desperately, _and fast_.

* * *

Tony stared at Fiona and Drien, the two spies from the Mob. He had the feeling that they were telling the truth, and yet he didn't quite trust them all the same.

"Do you want to take a shower?" May broke the silence, being the host to their unconventional guests.

Drien shook his head, "Some food would be nice."

Fiona shot him a look but everyone ignored her. Just as Tony can back with four sandwiches in his hands, FRIDAY announced,

"Boss, Virginia Potts entered the building. Do you want me to send her up?"

Tony froze, momentarily leaving his senses behind.

"Yes, god, yes, send her up," he begged, not caring that May was sending him a warning look.

"Tony, she's under the-" she began, but was cut off by the loud ding of the elevator arriving. 

Tony didn't _care_ what Pepper was under as long as she was _here._ He waited with baited breath as the elevator door slid open...

There she stood, her lovely strawberry blonde hair in a tight ponytail, her feet slipped into sharp maroon heels, her legs long and slim. Tony let his eyes wander all over her before resting on her face - and that's when he realized that something was wrong. She was smiling, but her eyes were hard and cold. But it was _Pepper_ and she had every right to be mad at him, he was a horrible person. He had let Peter be kidnapped, maybe now that's why her eyes weren't smiling.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered, his voice cracking.

"It's okay!" Pepper said cheerfully, and Tony was startled out of his dreams. This wasn't Pepper. The real her would've been at his side in an instant, holding him while the tears flooded his cheeks. This fake thing didn't even realize that he was tearing himself apart from the inside out. _She's under the..._ the serum. This was Pepper's body, Pepper's face, Pepper's clothes, but it was not Pepper. Whatever was inside her was only masked by a Pepper look alike. Tony wondered if Pepper was in there at all. But he had work to do.

He forced a smile onto his face.

"Great! Pep, where've you been?"

A quick look of shock passed over Pepper's face, so fast that anyone who didn't know her would've missed it. But Tony knew her. Was that shock Fake Pepper astounded that her ploy had worked, or real Pepper, hidden away, astonished that he didn't recognize that it wasn't her?

"I took a break," Fake Pepper said, "I'm ready to come back now, if you'll have me."

"Yup, awesome," Tony fought back an overwhelming urge to sob. "This is May, and this is Fiona, and this is Drien. May's son Peter - sure you remember him - has been kidnapped. So we're interrogating Fiona and Drien to see if they have information."

Anyone could've seen that Tony was not okay. His words, usually laced with sarcasm and innuendos, was like a child attempting to explain a complicated situation. Fake Pepper, however, was focused on the Fiona and Dri

* * *

en.

"If you're interrogating them, why are they not tied?" She asked, "Why did you make food for them?"

Ah, yes, Tony had forgotten that Pepper was clever, and her not-self seemed to be just as much, if not as adept at reading Tony.

"We decided to give them a break," Tony shaped his mouth into what he hoped passed for a grin, "You know we're good people, Pepper."

And there it was, his plea to see the real Pepper, his hope. 

"Yes, I know, Tony."

He glimpsed her then, her eyes melting into a loving, worrying expression, the Pepper he knew and loved so much. Tony bit back a gasp. Pepper was still there, he could feel it.  
It may have complicated things, but Tony felt like he could finally breath again.

* * *

"She has done it," Swivilla announced, "She has won Stark over."

Peter mentally shivered, but Not-Peter broke out into a grin.

"Lovely, Miss, everything is back on track," Not-Peter said. Swivilla nodded, then waved her hand dismissively. Not-Peter walked out of the room, heading towards his sleeping quarters. Peter knew, instinctively, that the only way to save Tony now was to warn him. Tony trusted and loved and cared too much to realize that Pepper wasn't real. Peter also knew that the effort of fighting with the thing in control of his body had the power to kill him. _But Mr. Stark is going to die._

_Listen to me,_ Peter thought, and his body froze as Not-Peter heard Peter's voice.  
 _We are going to warn Tony_.

Peter focused on his feet, pushing them in the direction opposite of where Not-Peter wanted to go. He felt like his foot was being dragged through spikes covered in poison, but he struggled onward. Two steps took eternity, and Peter could barely feel anything but pain. He pushed himself down the hallway, feeling like his skin was being pulled of his body with a burning rod of metal. He reached the room he knew Swivilla used for calls. He tapped the door, that taking more effort than any walking had done. He could feel Not-Peter fighting him, but Peter had something to fight _for_ and he sure as hell wasn't going to give up. 

Inside the room, an entire wall was covered with contacts of various people, some larger than others. Thankfully, Tony Stark made up the entire center, a giant among the other numbers. Peter fell on top of the number, too tired to actually lift his hand and press it. Now bright light made his head feel like it was about to implode and tiny black spots started dancing across his vision. There was too much pain to think, and Peter couldn't even tell if Tony was on the other end of the line.

"We're not real," was all Peter could manage to say before he fell to his knees. He vomited on the floor, his entire body feeling like it was dunked in acid. He shook, not strong enough to hold himself upright, then fell to the ground with a clatter, his head landing in the throw up.  
From far away, he heard Mr. Stark's voice.

"Peter? Peter, come back to me! Peter, tell me you're okay!"

Peter tried to say, _I'm okay,_ but shards of glass were impaling him, he was sure, and his throat was closing and he couldn't breath and -

Peter fell unconscious, blackness covering all the pain in a blanket of ignorance.

* * *

Tony sat back, massaging his temple. _We're not real. We're not real. We're not real._

"What was it?" Pepper - Fake Pepper - entered the room. Tony turned away from her. Looking at her was too painful, too damaging. She ran her fingers stiffly through his hair, being so close to his love, his life, but not close enough.

"Nothing," Tony got up, shying away from her touch. "Go to bed, Pep, I'll join you soon."

She laughed and winked, "I'm sure you will."

The thought of making love to this shell of his... girlfriend? ex? disgusted him. She never would have pushed him. She never would have even _mentioned_ it in his present state, but he choked out a laugh that sounded like a sob even to his own ears. She was satisfied, though, and left with a little smirk, hiking her skirt up slowly. As soon as she was out of earshot, Tony banged his fist against the table. _We're_ _not_ _real_. Peter had been injected as well, then. He had to develop something to get them back, he realized, but first he had to take Fake Pepper into custody. He sighed, eyeing the arm of his Iron Man suit. He held out his own appendage and muttered a few key words. The arm assembled around his own, and he flexed his hand, watching the hand rev up. It shot a blast of blue light into the wall, leaving a smoking hole in its wake. His other hand shaking with _too much_ he loaded a sedative into a function he had been installing before _Pirates of the Caribbean._ He shut the memory away in his mind, focusing on the task at hand.

Once properly installed, Tony headed slowly up the stairs, making his way quietly to his bedroom where he knew that Fake Pepper was waiting. She was reclining on the bed in what was supposed to have been a seductive position, but real Pepper knew that Tony didn't like being seduced, he liked to know where the stood, to not pretend to pretend.

He held up the Iron hand, ready to fall back in a role that he had played for a very long time. Back when he was a well known playboy, foreplay had been second nature. Now, he was unsteady and unsure.

"Thought we'd have a bit of fun," Tony said stiffly. She giggled flirtatiously, a sound that real Pepper would never have made. He didn't want to make this any longer than he had to. He moved towards her in what he hoped was a sexy manner. She didn't flinch, which was a good sign. He smiled slyly (though it felt like a scowl). Before he could even raise his hand, however, he felt something cold press against his head. He stared in disbelief as Fake Pepper pressed a gun against his head.

"You're an idiot, you know that?" Tony said, "I am _wearing_ a part of my suit. Your gun won't be fast enough to kill me before I blast you to pieces."

"But you won't," Fake Pepper said silkily, "I always hated you treating me like trash. That's why this has to happen."

"Oh, don't lie," Tony snapped, "We both know that you're not Pepper. I'll have no trouble exploding you."

"But Pepper's still in me," she crooned. "You wouldn't try to destroy me."

"You're right," Tony cocked his head, "But I don't have to."

Without another word, he shot a sedative into her open mouth, still reminiscent of the person she had tried to play. She lay, unconscious on the bed, and Tony gasped, trying to keep the tears inside his head. It was useless. Scalding tears slid down his scruffy cheeks. He clung to Pepper's unmoving body, sobbing until he couldn't feel anything anymore.

_We're not real._

* * *

Peter awoke in another cold cell. He was lying face down on hard, metal ground, the taste of blood overpowering in his mouth. He tried to struggle upwards, but just moving his hands made his stomach turn over. He choked back a gag, and strained his ears for noise. After a couple seconds, he heard low voices that seemed to be coming from behind a closed door.

"Is he still mine?" the voice was unmistakably Swivilla's. The other was startlingly familiar, but Peter knew that it _couldn't be_. 

"We don't know yet," she responded, "We have to wait until he wakes up."

"We have lost Virginia," Swivilla growled, "We have almost lost Peter. We have lost Fiona and Drien. How will we bring down Stark if our plans keep failing? Once he's here, what if the serum doesn't work on him?"

"He may be an avenger, but he's human," the second person said. _Was it her? Impossible._ "No serum, no giant green monster bottled up inside, no god qualities, no background training on resisting controlling serums. He may be smart and rich, but he's just as susceptible as the next person."

_Mr. Stark will beat the serum, just like I did._

Peter had to believe that, had to, because otherwise how would Mr. Stark come out of this alive? Peter's message had been too vague, Mr. Stark could never have understood it. Somehow, Fake-Pepper was gone, though whether or not real Pepper was alive was a mystery. That also meant that Fake-Pepper, at least, has failed to assassinate Mr. Stark. If they wanted Peter to go in and do the honors, then Peter knew that he could fight it. But Mr. Stark would never hurt Peter, ever, even if it meant saving his own life, and that could be his downfall.

And then there was _her._ If she was who Peter thought she was, then Mr. Stark would be dead as soon as she wanted. How could she be working for Swivilla? It was unthinkable. For that matter, why did Swivilla hate Mr. Stark so much?

Peter's thoughts were cut off as the scraping of chairs on the floor squealed in the next room.

"He's awake," Swivilla announced, "His heart rate has picked up. Go into the next room and bring him here. Now."

"Don't you think we should check if he's himself or not?" The other asked boldly. Peter would know soon enough if it was who he thought it was.

"No point," Swivilla said, "We'll find out soon enough."

"Fine," the woman stood up and began walking towards the door, based on the sound of her boots hitting the ground.

He heard a door open, then more footsteps, then another door much closer open. He still couldn't lift his head, but the woman dragged him up to her level so he was staring into her eyes anyway.

Peter's eyes hazel eyes filled with disbelief as he stared into her green ones, his entire body screaming in pain at the sudden change in position. It took him a moment to cut through the fog of nausea and spikes of pain.

"Nice to see you again, Peter," Natasha Romanoff said softly. She raised her hand and curled it into a fist. "You're going to have to go to sleep again."

Her first made contact with his head in a sickening crunch, and Peter's world dissolved into darkness.

* * *

"I've got it," Bruce announced, holding up a needle. "Tony, how're you doing?"

"Better now that you have an antidote." 

Late the night before, Tony had called Bruce in, begging him to help him. Unsurprisingly, Bruce had immediately agreed. He had only arrived a few hours ago, but with Fake Pepper already unconscious and ready to be studied it was child's play for the two geniuses.

"It works?" May asked anxiously. Bruce was still eyeing Tony suspiciously, so he plucked the syringe from Bruce's hand.

"Let's try it on Pep and see," he said, trying to keep his voice light. Bruce was far more perceptive than May, at least about Tony.

He injected a quick dose of the antidote, which seemed to be an anti-sedative as well. Pepper (or Fake Pepper?) stirred after a few moments, waking up with a groan. She looked around blearily, confused.

"Tony?" she asked, whipping her head around till she caught sight of him, "Is she gone?"

"You... you remember?" Tony asked, his heart breaking and healing at the same time. He untied her and she grabbed him into a fierce hug.

"We'll be okay," she assured him. He fought back tears and nodded gratefully. "And Peter's going to be okay. Swivilla is using him to get to you."

"Swivilla?" Bruce asked curiously. Pepper explained the whole situation.

"When she injects you, your personality isn't taken over, it's just repressed," Pepper said, "Which is why Peter was able to fight it."

"So Tony can't go, or he might be injected" Bruce said thoughtfully.

"Screw that, I'll just avoid swivelly-chair," Tony scoffed, "Its my fault Peter is there in the first place."

"Listen, Tony, you have to be careful."

A rush of affection for Pepper flooded through him and he crushed her to his side once more. She hadn't even considered telling him _no_ as she might once have done. She knew that there was no point, but she still warned him.

"Why does she want to bring Tony down?" Bruce asked.

"She grew up extremely clever in an abusive household," Pepper sighed in a sympathetic way, "So did Tony, somewhat. Look at where he is, and where she is. For some twisted reason she blames him for her not making it big. She thinks he lied about how his parents were for pity."

Tony let out a cold, mirthless laugh, "So she decided to capture a child? Really strengthening her case, isn't she?"

Pepper glanced at him. She knew that he wasn't okay, but he had to hold on just until Peter was safe.

"Pep, where is Peter?" He asked, "I'm gonna go in, administer the antidote, and get him out. Then we can deal with Swivilla."

"You think it's going to be that easy?" May demanded.

"Something will undoubtedly go wrong," Pepper put her hand on Tony's shoulder, "Don't be rash."

"I'm not being rash," Tony clenched his fists, "I'm saving my kid."

Pepper removed her hand, "I know. Just - don't forget that you're important, too."

For the first time in his life, Tony didn't have anything to say.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> like i said, this isn't rlly fluff, but it's not exactly angst either. i mean, it's supposed to be angst, but here we are bc i can't write angst. so you get this, instead.


	4. Happy Endings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And yes, we will get our happy ending.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning for suicide - nothing graphic but it is in here. If you want to skip it, skip from ""We're not going to kill you," Tony said forcefully." to "And while Peter lay in his bed at May's apartment" which I've italicized. It's a very short section.

Peter had no idea what was going happen to him. He was pretending to follow Nat and Swivilla's every word until he could determine whether or not Natasha was actually working for her. He had asked what he had thought we're inconspicuous questions, but every time she had looked shrewdly at him, so he stopped. He had forgotten how _smart_ she was, how _lethal,_ because she was always so kind to him.

"Peter," Swivilla snapped him out of his thoughts, "Were you-?"

He knew she was going to ask if he had been paying attention, but she never got the chance to. An alarm went off, blaring and flashing.

" _What_?" Swivilla let out a string of curses. "Why would the fool break in _now?_ He must not know that you're pretending to be under our control."

Peter froze. _Pretending?_ Swivilla practically cackled.

"Oh yes, I know," she crooned, "Ms. Romonaff was kind enough to inform me that you were only _faking_ being subservient. Let us administer this-"

Peter struggled, but somehow Nat was there and she was holding him back and _how could she have betrayed him_ and why was the alarm _still going off_ and -

A wave of blankness spread over him as he lost control of his muscles.

"Peter?" Swivilla's voice swam into his head.

"I am yours to command," Not-Peter responsed. Peter wanted to scream.

"Stark has attacked the compound," Swivilla said, "Destroy him. God knows he won't be able to destroy you."

Peter tried to resist but, with a start, he realized that Swivilla had been weakening him so that when she re-administered the serum he wouldn't be able to fight it. He was helpless as his body carried him away.

The breach was in the main room - why had he targeted the _main room_? - and he was blasting everyone in sight.

"Hello, Mr. Stark," the words coming out of his mouth were alien, "I'm afraid your time is up now."

That was it. No preamble, no pretend. Not-Peter grabbed the suit from where it was hanging and donned it with Peter's skill. Tony didn't even attempt to shoot him. Not-Peter shot three webs in his direction, which Tony barely managed to duck. He shot a blaster at him, missing by a millimeter. Peter knew that that had been a warning shot, but that Mr. Stark would never carry out on that threat.

"You are never touching _my kid_ ," Tony ground out, and Peter could sense Swivilla just behind him.

"Oh, it's too late, Mr. Stark," she whispered just loud enough to be heard.

"Is it?" He asked, then held up a syringe in his left hand. It looked minuscule compared to his battered red and gold armor plated fist, but it held more meaning then a bomb would.

"Get that," Swivilla spit. Not-Peter swung into motion. Webs were shot, blasts fired, Peter could barely keep up. Usually he fought on instinct, and since now his instinct wasn't in play, he could hardly tell what was happening when. He wasn't having an adrenaline rush or a panic attack, just an ever increasing feeling of dread. They were evenly matched, but Mr. Stark was purposely missing, trying to keep Peter alive and unharmed. It worked against him.

Swivilla was keeping up evil villain commentary in the back.

"Feel my pain, Stark," she crowed, "Feel my despair. Not nice, is it, being beaten?"

"I wouldn't know," Tony managed to fire back at her. Peter tried to force his features into a grin but it didn't work. Resistance was fruitless. Peter watched helplessly as Not-Peter webbed Tony to the wall then, using a carefully aimed shot of web, knocked the anti-serum from Tony's waist and went lunging after it. It was snatched up before he could get to it. Not-Peter and Peter were both curious and fearful as to who picked it up, and lifted their head in unison.

The antidote was held firmly in the hands of Natasha.

Peter felt the dread plunk like a concrete load in his gut. Where did her loyalties lie? She grinned menacingly and tossed the antidote to the side.

* * *

Peter traced the antidote's path with his eyes, but Not-Peter was keeping him from leaping after it. It made a long arc through the air, and landed in the outstretched palm of-

The Black Widow. She had run across the room and caught it with her own hands, giving Tony time to unravel from the webs that Not-Peter had shot at him. She tossed it to him now, a move which neither Peter nor Not-Peter had seen coming. His mouth fell open. Natasha grinned and winked at him, and Swivilla let out a horrible scream.

"You! You said-!" Her finger was raised, pointing at Nat, her entire body shaking with anger.

"You trusted too blindly in your anger," Natasha said coldly. "You really thought I could work for you, I, who is a known member of the Avengers, who is a _spy_ _?_ You thought I could work for someone who bends people to their will to take revenge in one person who didn't even _do_ anything?"

"But.." Swivilla was actually trembling now, "But..."

"It's over, Elena," Nat said quietly. Peter wondered briefly who Elena was, until he realized that Swivilla could hardly be her real name.

" _No it's not_ ," it wasn't Swiv-Elena's voice. It was a strange voice, coming from the side of the room. There was a woman there, standing alongside a similarly aged man.

"But _Fiona_!" Mr. Stark pleaded, " _Drien_. Please."

Peter stared uncomprehendingly as the scene unfolded. Drien seemed to hesitate, and Mr. Stark's expression became hopeful, and he paused. 

It cost him. Faster than Not-Peter could register, both Swi-Elena and Fiona made for the serum. They collided beneath him, but in a desperate attempt to fly straight up, the injection fell from his hand.

It lay on the ground, and though Peter screamed at his muscles to _move,_ Not-Peter was stronger. Both Sw- Elena and Fiona were recovering from the impact with each other. Mr Stark, frantically swooped down, but with such a huge suit, he couldn't move as gracefully as he wished. Peter heard him desperately telling FRIDAY to locate it, but either she couldn't through the melee, or S-Elena had jammed the signals. 

Drien tried to exchange a look with Natasha, as though they were in a fight, but Nat, who had learned to use every second at her disposal, had already dived for the serum. Tony was there first, scooping it up in his bulky hands.

"Peter!" He yelled. He zoomed down towards him, but Not-Peter finally moved - away from Iron Man. Peter tried to slow him down but he was just _so tired_ and Not-Peter was flinging webs this way and that and swinging out of danger.

Peter forced an, "I'm sorry!" Out of his mouth, leaving him exhausted. He decided to preserve energy for trying to slow Not-Peter down. Elena and Fiona were racing after them, right after Natasha who was catching up, but they were on the ground and the fight was in the air. 

"Nat!!" Tony called desperately. She knew immediately what he was saying and ran up on the wall, backflipping through the air just as Tony tossed the serum to her, landing in a crouch on the floor, vaccine in her outstretched hand. She sprinted after Peter, but Not-Peter was faster, and she threw it back up to Mr. Stark and-

A hand caught it midair. Drien. He looked torn and scared.

"Drien, _please_ ," Tony's voice cracked. Drien froze.

"Drieeeeen," Elena cooed, "I _pay_ you."

"Drien!!" Fiona shouted, "Come on, ya big lump!! Give it to me."

"Give it to Peter," Tony's voice broke the tension. "Let's see who's stronger."

Peter was momentarily paralyzed. _Him choose?_ He was barely strong enough to say his own words! The injection was flying through the air towards them, almost in slow motion. Peter was still frozen. Then Mr. Stark panned his helmet up, and their eyes met.

It was Peter who saw Tony's eyes filled with complete trust and complete love, Peter who dove for the serum, Peter who caught the injection, and Peter who slammed it into his neck, pushing the antidote into his veins.

Peter passed out seconds later, but he knew that he was going to be okay.

* * *

Tony sat anxiously by Peter's bedside, waiting. He was still covered in blood and filth- whether Peter's or his own he didn't know. Peter was still unconscious but he was stabilized, so now it was a waiting game. Bruce had informed him that Peter could be out for days, but Tony had refused to move from his side. May was also there, but because she lacked the self destructive tendencies that Tony possessed, she occasionally left to use the bathroom or eat. Tony had seen in Pepper's eyes that she wanted to ask him to take care of himself, but he overflowed with gratitude when she said nothing, only sat beside him. He hadn't realized how much _she_ had cared about Peter, too, but all that time Peter had spent at Stark Towers had caused Pepper to love him just as much as Tony and May. Bruce flitted around them, checking in Peter every few hours. Nat also seemed worried, but she kept her distance, confining her visits to watching from the door, then quietly slipping off again.

Still Tony sat there, leaving once after two days to use the bathroom. Pepper forced some food into him, then brought baby wipes to clean him. He was in some kind of shock, unable to leave Peter unguarded again. Sometime during Peter's rescue, the other team members had filed into Stark Towers, and they all took time to slip in and stay with Peter. They had never all been in the room at the same time until one day, when the entire team, Pepper, and May happened to visit together.

It was then that Peter finally opened his eyes, to the joy and relief of all the others. There were exclamations of happiness and greetings, and they all got hugs in, May the first and Tony the last. He held his kid tightly, and Peter didn't seem to care that he smelled of five days of sweat and blood and dirt.

Peter was still confined to bed rest, but Tony finally took a shower and ate regular meals, though he still slept in the chair next to Peter and spent every spare moment by his side. He didn't care about Swivilla, didn't care about anything at all, except for his loved ones unharmed and happy.

Two weeks later, Peter was walking around the tower, joking and laughing and back to his normal self. They all assembled in the kitchen, talking and bantering and throwing sarcastic comments around. With one arm around Peter and the other secured around Pepper, while simultaneously discussing quantum physics with Bruce and casually giving comments to Nat about her appearance while she steadily ignored him and talked to Clint, he had never felt happier. Thor was munching on Pop-Tarts in the corner, and Steve was studying the new phone that Rhodey had recently bought him. Wanda was laughing at something that Vision said, while Sam and Bucky argued with each other as always. 

"So," Peter addressed all of them and somehow, miraculously, got all of them to listen, "What _exactly_ happened?"

They exchanged both sides of the story, Tony explaining that Natasha had had this woman on her radar for forever, and had _always_ been on their side, about how he had figured out about the serum from the very beginning, about how Swivilla hated him for succeeding, while Peter gave a detailed account of the inside of the headquarters and Swivilla's brain.

"What are we going to do about her?" Peter asked fearfully.

"We're Avengers, we don't kill," Tony said thoughtfully. He thought he would be filled with boiling rage every time he thought of Swivilla, or Elena, but he was too glad that Peter was okay to be mad. "We'll capture her, turn her in."

"Something will go wrong," Nat said, but she said it calmly.

"It always does," Tony sighed, "For now, lets just hope it'll work out in the end."

"I'm very glad I don't have your mentality," Pepper grinned at him. They laughed, and they returned to the mini conversations and random chatting that always filled the air.

They would worry about Elena later. For now, everything was okay.

* * *

"Operation ready?" Nat's voice sounded through the earpiece located in Peter's ear. Peter heard Tony sound back an affirmative, then look back at him. Peter was allowed to come on this mission only on the condition that he would listen to everything Tony said. He _would_ listen.

He just might not _do_ it.

"Do you have the serum?" Steve's voice crackled over the earpiece. Bruce had extracted it from Peter's blood stream, while Peter was comatose and Tony was sitting by his bedside. Tony repeated his, 'Yes,' spared Peter one more glance, then flipped his helmet down.

"It's go time," he muttered. Peter flung himself up the wall and scampered across the roof, wincing as the cold Chicago air hit him inside his suit. His Iron Spider suit was undergoing some changes so he had had to settle for his old one. He slipped into a hatch that Nat had rightly informed him was on this roof. It led to an air duct which he crawled through, even colder now. Three levels down there was a small grate which Peter removed using a pick Tony had given him and squeezed through. 

"Bingo," he murmured.

He was in Swivilla's office, and he quickly flipped his earpiece on to a fifth channel.

"Hey Ned," he said cheerfully. He could feel Ned squeal on the inside.

" _God_ , I love being the guy in the chair," Ned's voice came back to Peter.

"Ok, Chair Guy, please walk him through this," Tony's voice sounded strained.

"Yeah, sorry!" Ned squeaked, and immediately turned his attention to Peter's cams. "Ok, first you have to-"

Hacking while having someone tell you what to do was mindless. Peter was merely pressing buttons for the next ten minutes. Eventually, Ned said that the cameras were down. Peter sure as hell hoped they were, because he hadn't been paying attention at all.

"Alright, we have two minutes to get in," Tony said, "Nat, you grab the main plans from her room. Pete'll guide you there. Steve, distract Elena. I'm gonna jab the thing in her neck."

"Hey, Miss Romanoff," Peter said. "Okay, so I'm three levels underground in the -" he pulled up floor plans, "seventh door down on the right."

"Got it," Nat replied. Peter waited one minute before he got anxious.

"Miss Natasha? Miss Black Widow?" Peter's voice was small.

"Yeah, I'm coming, don't worry," Natasha sounded amused. The doorknob handle turned.

"Oh, yeah, I can see," Peter laughed.

"What?" Nat sounded worried, "Kid, I'm not there ye-"

The door swung open.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Elena asked.

* * *

Tony was moving as fast as his suit allowed. He zoomed down the stairwell, narrowly missing the ceiling. 

"Peter, _stand down_ ," at this point, he wasn't sure what _standing down_ even meant but if Peter was in any danger he couldn't _live_ with himself. Not after it was so close last time, not after he had promised May - and himself - that he wouldn't let any harm come to Peter.

"Tony, do you have the serum?" Steve's voice cane through and the only reason Tony didn't punch him was because he wasn't there.

" _Yes I have the fucking serum, where the fuck is my kid?"_ Tony nearly screamed. 

"It's okay, Tony, I'm here," Natasha's voice was muted. She was whispering, then. Tony almost imperceptibly slowed his pace, but it was enough that he didn't bang into any more walls. 

He reached the door Peter described and saw Natasha lurking outside, eye presses firmly to the keyhole.

"The door's impenetrable by any of SHIELD's weapons," she explained as Tony neared.

"Move aside, then," he said. She didn't question his order, just stepped to the side. Tony blasted the door in, rubble spraying on the other side, and burst in. Peter was on the ceiling and Elena was cowering in a corner. Tony held up his hand towards her. It glowed menacingly. He gently tossed the concoction to Natasha, who filled the syringe with it. 

"If you move, I'll shoot you," Tony threatened.

Elena through back her head and laughed, "You wouldn't. The superhero the people have come to love? No."

"Yes, I would," Tony's voice was low. Elena must have seen the shift in his eyes, because she froze. "You captured Peter, tortured Peter. You will not get mercy."

Natasha crept towards her like a cat, lethal but steady. She held up the syringe and realization dawned in Elena's eyes.

"NO!" she screamed and lunged forward. Tony blasted at her, but she wasn't running to her freedom. She grabbed a gun from the floor, disrupted from her desk by the door explosion. Nat held up one of her hands, and said soothingly,

"Put the gun down, Elena."

Elena cackled, "You have made me into this, Tony Stark. This was you. And my death is on you, too."

_"We're not going to kill you," Tony said forcefully._

" _You're_ not going to," Elena held up the gun, then swiveled it around and placed it in her own mouth. Tony leapt for Peter, latching on to him and throwing his hands over his eyes just as the gun went off. Nat tried to snatch the gun away from her, but it was too late. Elena lay on the floor, eyes glazed.

Tony didn't let Peter look, and walked him out of the room.

Natasha and Steve took care of cleanup while Tony flew back to New York with Peter.

 _And while Peter lay in his bed at May's apartment_ , Tony lay next to Pepper, head buried into her chest, and wept.

He wept for Peter, for the horror and trauma he had been through at such a young age. He wept for Elena, for the girl who felt such overwhelming despair and sadness that she took her own life. He wept for himself, for his irretrievably damaged self, for this mess of brain and blood and tears that was Tony Stark. And Pepper held him, and through the night he healed.

The next morning, he did not greet anyone with a sarcastic one liner. He held out his hand to each of them, and they understood. 

Peter understood most of all. They all gathered in the living room, silent but still together.

The Avengers, broken and hurt and in pain, but real and true and better than any single one of them could ever be.

The Avengers - including Peter.

* * *

Peter could feel the eyes of his classmates on him as Mark flung words at him, at his friends, at Aunt May. He merely smirked, waiting for the deluge of insults to stop. After a few minutes, Mark froze, realizing that Peter wasn't even responding. He opened his mouth - no doubt to up the ante - but Peter was already walking away.

At night, the nightmares had returned. He imagined the gunshot going off over and over, Tony's desperation in getting to him, Elena chaining him, punching him, hurting him. Now, though, he could easily crawl into Aunt May's bed, the shame no longer creeping over him. Or on the nights he was at the Avengers compounds, he would slide in between Tony and Pepper, and both would wordlessly accept him. Sometimes, Pepper would have to comfort Tony and Peter simultaneously, but she never seemed to mind.

After school, he often brought Ned, MJ, or both to Stark Towers. They would spend hours designing and chatting, talking with the Avengers, Tony or Bruce occasionally slipping in and giving them random advice.

Today he was walking up the stairs of the compound alone. He had shaken off both Ned and MJ by telling them he was going with the other, and he was nearly a shadow as he snuck into the elevator. Pepper met him in the penthouse, pressing a finger to her lips to gesture for silence.

"I have everything set up, except for -"

"I got it," Peter whispered. He pulled a small folded cloth from his pocket, placing it almost reverently in Pepper's hands. They both jumped when FRIDAY's voice came loud and clear over the intercom.

"Mr. Stark is returning home, Miss Potts," she announced. Pepper jumped, and motioned for Peter to hide behind the couch, where she quickly joined him.

Next to him was Nat, who was scolding Steve and telling both him and Clint to be quiet. She turned to Peter with a rare smile. Peter immediately grinned back, then promptly told Steve and Clint to be absolutely silent. They froze, their mouths locked, and turned to wait. Nat rolled her eyes.

"Everyone ready?" Pepper asked in a hushed voice. They nodded a silent affirmative, Thor putting his half eaten Pop Tart on the ground in a solemn promise. The elevator door slid soundlessly open, and Tony stepped inside, his head hanging slightly.

"Happy birthday, Mr. Stark," FRIDAY announced cheerily. Peter groaned internally.

"Thanks for remembering," he said dejectedly. Peter glared at the ground, then prodded Pepper hard in the arm. She nodded, and held up three fingers. Slowly, she put down one. Then the other. Then-

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!" all the Avengers, plus Pepper, leaped up from behind the couch. At the same time, balloons and confetti exploded from the ceiling as they began to sing. Presents appeared from seemingly nowhere as Tony wiped happy tears from his eyes. Pepper strode over and kissed him thoroughly enough that Steve jokingly covered Peter's eyes. When she broke away, Peter was surprised to find that she hadn't give Tony The Present. The one they'd planned for months. She made eye contact with Peter and walked over, pressing the cloth into his hand.

"I think _you_ should give this to him," she said quietly. Peter couldn't bring himself to move closer, but Tony took care of that for him. He came over and gave Peter a bear hug, practically squeezing the breath out of him. When he finally let go of Peter enough to gasp in a bit of air, he had found the courage to give the present.

"This is... something we made for you," Peter could feel a knot rising in his throat. What if Mr. Stark didn't like it? What if it made him sad? But now Tony was looking at him expectantly and it was too late to go back. He handed the faded red and gold cloth to Tony. The man unfolded it carefully, his mechanic's hands peeling the fabric gently. With the last fold uncreased, the cloth expanded into a small scrapbook, with a red background and the words ' _Family is More than Blood,'_ embroidered onto the cover. Tony opened it cautiously. Tears were streaming down his face from before he had even flipped the first page. There were pictures of him with Howard, Maria, and Jarvis - but also of him with Pepper, with Rhodey, with the original Avengers, then with the newer Avengers, and finally with Peter himself.

"It... it folds up so you can take it on missions with you if, i-if you want to, I mean, of course," Peter stammered. This time when Tony hugged Peter, he didn't even care if he could breathe or not. The other Avengers piled on and hugged for what seemed like an eternity.

"Now," Tony sniffled, then a smirk spread over his face, "I love the party. But it can't be a party without cake."

Laughingly, Pepper ordered Dum-E to bring out the chocolate cake and they all took turns smashing it in Tony's face. He simply _couldn't_ have that - so he smooshed a bit on theirs as well. It took less than a second for a full-on food war to begin, with Peter as the reigning champion.

A few hours later they collapsed, exhausted. There was food and confetti everywhere, everyone's face were stained with tears and laughter, they would most likely have a horrible argument tomorrow, but they were all the happiest they had ever been. And ever would be.

As family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaand that's all! hope you enjoyed my short feel-good irondad fic! also - rest in peace Chadwick Boseman. This story is dedicated to you even if you're not in it, which you totally should have been.

**Author's Note:**

> DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters/the universe, etc, etc


End file.
